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Applied Magic
Applied Magic is a selection of Dion Fortune's writings on the practical applications of magical and esoteric techniques. Everyone has the ability to access the invisible planes of existence a whole kingdom of mind and spirit which cannot be perceived with the physical senses. Fortune provides invaluable guidance to anyone intent on increasing their inner awareness. She declares, "Esoteric tradition admits of no exclusiveness; it is the very essence of its spirit that it blasphemes no God that has been hallowed by our devotion. It sees all religions as the expressions of our spirit rather than the personal revelation of a jealous God to His chosen people. It suffers from neither superstitious awe nor bigoted fear."
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
58 people are currently reading
355 people want to read
About the author
Dion Fortune
134 books463 followersViolet Mary Firth Evans (better known as Dion Fortune), was a British occultist and author. Her pseudonym was inspired by her family motto "Deo, non fortuna" (Latin for "by God, not fate").
From 1919 she began writing a number of novels and short stories that explored various aspects of magic and mysticism, including The Demon Lover, The Winged Bull, The Goat-Foot God, and The Secrets of Dr. Taverner. This latter is a collection of short stories based on her experiences with Theodore Moriarty. Two of her novels, The Sea Priestess and Moon Magic, became influential within the religion of Wicca, especially upon Doreen Valiente.
Of her non-fiction works on magical subjects, the best remembered of her books are; The Cosmic Doctrine, meant to be a summation of her basic teachings on mysticism; The Mystical Qabalah, an introduction to Hermetic Qabalah; and Psychic Self Defence, a manual on how to protect oneself from psychic attacks. Though some of her writings may seem dated to contemporary readers, they have the virtue of lucidity and avoid the deliberate obscurity that characterised many of her forerunners and contemporaries.
From 1919 she began writing a number of novels and short stories that explored various aspects of magic and mysticism, including The Demon Lover, The Winged Bull, The Goat-Foot God, and The Secrets of Dr. Taverner. This latter is a collection of short stories based on her experiences with Theodore Moriarty. Two of her novels, The Sea Priestess and Moon Magic, became influential within the religion of Wicca, especially upon Doreen Valiente.
Of her non-fiction works on magical subjects, the best remembered of her books are; The Cosmic Doctrine, meant to be a summation of her basic teachings on mysticism; The Mystical Qabalah, an introduction to Hermetic Qabalah; and Psychic Self Defence, a manual on how to protect oneself from psychic attacks. Though some of her writings may seem dated to contemporary readers, they have the virtue of lucidity and avoid the deliberate obscurity that characterised many of her forerunners and contemporaries.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 30, 2014
This is a good little book, although we think the title “Applied Magic” is somewhat misleading. It perhaps would better be called “Essays on the Occult and Cosmic Considerations” or something of that nature. Those who like Blavatsky’s works would probably find this interesting, but those who are looking for spells and practical aspects of magic are less likely to do so. This concerns magic in one of its highest senses, which is the spiritual evolution and development of souls and spirits. Dion Fortune was truly knowledgeable in this field, and though she was a Christian Occultist, quite open and fair minded. She doesn’t evidence the sort of naughty wildness that so many find attractive about Crowley, whose works she speaks of here, but she was a Master in her own Rite and well worth readying.
The Silver Elves
authors of The Shining Ones: The Elfin Spirits That Guide You According to Your Birth Date and the Evolutionary Lessons They Offer
The Silver Elves
authors of The Shining Ones: The Elfin Spirits That Guide You According to Your Birth Date and the Evolutionary Lessons They Offer
January 30, 2023
Big, juicy ‘I-dont-know-vibes’ on this one. On the one hand, I have a soft spot the size of Saturn for women like Dion Fortune—minor heiresses who could carve out modern lives for their own at the start of the twentieth century—and on the other, she spent a chapter in this banging on about ‘racial angels’ which was just an esoteric rehash of a race theory that had already justified a lot of colonialism, and would justify the Third Reich.
But then Fortune didn’t know that, writing in a time where peace on earth through progress seemed, not just genuinely possible, but the inevitable end of enlightenment, finally within sight. Maybe I’m also so influenced by modern popular leftist thought which shouts ‘problematic!’ and then leaves it at that, with no further thought to subtlety or context.
As I said earlier: big juicy ‘I-dont-know’ vibes.
But then Fortune didn’t know that, writing in a time where peace on earth through progress seemed, not just genuinely possible, but the inevitable end of enlightenment, finally within sight. Maybe I’m also so influenced by modern popular leftist thought which shouts ‘problematic!’ and then leaves it at that, with no further thought to subtlety or context.
As I said earlier: big juicy ‘I-dont-know’ vibes.
May 23, 2016
Some good essays here, although dated. My eyes started to glaze over in the Esoteric Glossary portion when she started talking about "racial angels". I kind of skimmed through the last 15 pages. Would not recommend as first introduction to her writings.
June 3, 2020
This should be read twice or 3 times. It's fascinating, not in a sense as we are used to think of magic as something associated with "dark" forces but as something that our science still can't explain, yet it exists.
Def-ly on my re-read list. Dion writing style can be challenging for someone who is not intellectually curious but after two or three readings you get the point. Lots of unusual terminology and concepts too.
Def-ly on my re-read list. Dion writing style can be challenging for someone who is not intellectually curious but after two or three readings you get the point. Lots of unusual terminology and concepts too.
August 1, 2025
This is an introduction to the use of magic and other occult techniques to aid in personal spiritual development, written by a leading expert in the field in the early 20th century. It was not actually written as a book by her, but is a collated collection of articles she wrote, published nearly 80 years after her death.
There are many typos unfortunately. Mostly the lack of required full stops but also some words that are so completely misspelled it is not clear what they are meant to be. This is not, of course, down to Dion Fortune but to the person who curated these articles and self-published them on Amazon.
Included in the collection is an article Dion wrote on egregores, which Dion here calls group minds. This gives an interesting take on mob mind but also guidance on how this can be used positively. There is also a very thoughtful article on the ways in which sex magic can be used, although the way it is written means it is not particularly obvious that is what it is about.
The magic touched on in this short book is the Western Tradition based on elements of the Golden Dawn as outlined by MacGregor Mathers and Israel Regardie, and as modified by Dion Fortune in her Fraternity of Inner Light. Dion Fortune takes the view that someone studying magic should be an initiate of a group such as (although not limited to) her own, and therefore only gives hints rather than detailed instructions of how to apply the knowledge she imparts.
The final chapter, a Glossary of Occult Terms, is difficult to follow unless you already have a reasonable understanding of basic Qabbalistic concepts. If you don't have this understanding it might be best to skip this.
If you intend to read this in order to find out how to use and develop magic skills, don't bother. But if your intention is to allow magical concepts to penetrate your unconscious mind to help you as you use other methods to develop your skills then it may be worth reading.
There are many typos unfortunately. Mostly the lack of required full stops but also some words that are so completely misspelled it is not clear what they are meant to be. This is not, of course, down to Dion Fortune but to the person who curated these articles and self-published them on Amazon.
Included in the collection is an article Dion wrote on egregores, which Dion here calls group minds. This gives an interesting take on mob mind but also guidance on how this can be used positively. There is also a very thoughtful article on the ways in which sex magic can be used, although the way it is written means it is not particularly obvious that is what it is about.
The magic touched on in this short book is the Western Tradition based on elements of the Golden Dawn as outlined by MacGregor Mathers and Israel Regardie, and as modified by Dion Fortune in her Fraternity of Inner Light. Dion Fortune takes the view that someone studying magic should be an initiate of a group such as (although not limited to) her own, and therefore only gives hints rather than detailed instructions of how to apply the knowledge she imparts.
The final chapter, a Glossary of Occult Terms, is difficult to follow unless you already have a reasonable understanding of basic Qabbalistic concepts. If you don't have this understanding it might be best to skip this.
If you intend to read this in order to find out how to use and develop magic skills, don't bother. But if your intention is to allow magical concepts to penetrate your unconscious mind to help you as you use other methods to develop your skills then it may be worth reading.
August 13, 2020
Not a very enjoyable read, but thankfully her other books are much better than this.
Having previously read a few other books by Fortune, I assumed this one would have the same quality and I would close the last page feeling like I've learnt a lot. Spoiler: that didn't happen.
If this book was edited and categorised better, I would have given it another star. It was incredibly difficult to get through, and most of the chapters felt rambly and like they dragged on for ages, even though they're quite short.
The information is not in-depth nor applicable, like another reviewer said, it would be better if it was labelled as 'Essays on Magic' or something similar. It gives theoretical information, so the name isn't very relevant.
I genuinely can't explain how a book can feel shallow yet rambly at the same time, but this one is exactly that. Few nuggets of information here and there, but this book would be better as a series of shortened articles.
That shouldn't discourage anyone who stumbles upon this review from reading her other works, they're really enlightening and a billion times easier to read than this one.
2/5, don't regret reading but I couldn't possibly be paid to do it again.
Having previously read a few other books by Fortune, I assumed this one would have the same quality and I would close the last page feeling like I've learnt a lot. Spoiler: that didn't happen.
If this book was edited and categorised better, I would have given it another star. It was incredibly difficult to get through, and most of the chapters felt rambly and like they dragged on for ages, even though they're quite short.
The information is not in-depth nor applicable, like another reviewer said, it would be better if it was labelled as 'Essays on Magic' or something similar. It gives theoretical information, so the name isn't very relevant.
I genuinely can't explain how a book can feel shallow yet rambly at the same time, but this one is exactly that. Few nuggets of information here and there, but this book would be better as a series of shortened articles.
That shouldn't discourage anyone who stumbles upon this review from reading her other works, they're really enlightening and a billion times easier to read than this one.
2/5, don't regret reading but I couldn't possibly be paid to do it again.
November 8, 2024
“Nature is god made manifest and we blaspheme her at our peril.”
Fortune’s information mostly leaned toward the cautionary, but interesting to know nonetheless for any serious practitioner. I found the chapter on Aleister Crowley setting up qlippoth traps for the unwary student by advocating methods designed to contact undesirable forces to be particularly insightful.
Fortune’s information mostly leaned toward the cautionary, but interesting to know nonetheless for any serious practitioner. I found the chapter on Aleister Crowley setting up qlippoth traps for the unwary student by advocating methods designed to contact undesirable forces to be particularly insightful.
September 25, 2025
Dificil de entender sin conocimientos previos de Cabala y Esoterismo. Leer despues de La doctrina cosmica. Trabaja mucho con simbologia y arquetipos. Es corto pero necesita procesarse. Un compendio de ideas que no tienen un hilo de desarollo con un final claro. Aun asi tiene partes reveladoras con mensajes profundos acerca de la existencia y la realidad.
July 15, 2020
The good and the bad
There is a lot of lucid and fascinating thought in this work, as there often is with Dion Fortune. There is also the usual problematic racial stuff that appears in many occult works from this era. One must, as always, separate the wheat from the chaff.
There is a lot of lucid and fascinating thought in this work, as there often is with Dion Fortune. There is also the usual problematic racial stuff that appears in many occult works from this era. One must, as always, separate the wheat from the chaff.
December 21, 2023
O título do livro dá a impressão de haver instruções para a aplicação da magia, o que não é o caso. Nenhuma prática é ensinada nesse livro, trata-se apenas de um conjunto de conceitos do ocultismo, explanados de forma breve. Do começo ao meio, o livro é legal e consegue fundamentar com relativa clareza vários conceitos, mas seu glossário é ruim, com diversas conceituações de veracidade duvidosa. Preciso ler outros livros da Dion Fortune para formar uma opinião mais clara.
November 25, 2024
I liked it, but it's probably not what you think it is.
If you have questions about safety in magical practices, and wish to know Dion Fortune's opinion on a variety of subjects, go for it.
If you have questions about safety in magical practices, and wish to know Dion Fortune's opinion on a variety of subjects, go for it.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews